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Wisconsin takes its cheese very seriously. In Wisconsin, by law, "state-certified cheeses, like Muenster, cheddar, Colby, and Monterey Jack, must be "highly pleasing." Idaho maintains different culinary standards. In Idaho, cannibalism is illegal and punishable by up to 14 years in prison, unless the cannibalism occurs under "life-threatening conditions as the only apparent means of survival." In Indiana, one must choose carefully when thirsty; liquor stores there are not allowed to sell refrigerated water or sodas.
Ohio and Oregon focus on the other end. You'll be glad to know that in Ohio, every operator of an underground coal mine must supply an "adequate supply" of toilet paper at each toilet. In Oregon, one must find that toilet because leaving a container of urine or fecal matter on the side of the road is a misdemeanor.
Some states have strict safety limits. The Kentucky Constitution, for example, requires that every legislator, public officer and lawyer take an oath saying that they have not fought a duel with deadly weapons. In Nebraska, it is illegal for anyone with a sexually-transmitted disease to marry.
Even fun can be heavily regulated. In Arkansas, a pinball machine can't give away more than 25 free games to someone who keeps winning. And in North Carolina, bingo games conducted by a commercial enterprise can't last more than 5 hours, so if one wants to play longer, she needs to find a game conducted by a non-profit entity.
Weird laws like these end up on the books because someone, at least once, did something that lacked common sense or common courtesy. I'm guessing, for example, that Ohio's law about the toilet paper supply in underground mines came about because a company somewhere in the state wanted to discourage its miners from taking time during the work day to go to the bathroom. Some chaffing miner then wrote to his state legislator...
Even God's law for Israel contained some commonsense provisions, perhaps because common sense isn't always that common.
For instance, God warns Israel that justice doesn't depend on economic circumstances. Exodus 23:3 (NIV) commands, "...do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit," and 23:6 addresses the opposite extreme: "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits." The courts are to be places where "justice is blind," not dependent on one's economic status. Taking from the rich to give to the poor isn't justice, but neither is taking from the poor to give to the rich. "Blind justice" also takes no note of ethnicity or background. Exodus 23:9 commands, "Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt."
It ought to go without saying, but God says it: "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd." The number or identity of the people on one side or the other of an issue doesn't determine whether the issue is right or wrong. Going along with the crowd makes a mockery out of justice.
The courts are to be places of justice, not revenge or personal or political gain. Exodus 23:7 reads, "Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty." It's so important to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!
Seems easy, doesn't it? Common sense stuff that shouldn't have to be said. But it has to be said.
In Alabama, prosecutors fund up to 70% of their office budget through the fines and court fees they pursue. Doesn't provide much of an incentive to work with folks and educate them on acting right in the first place, does it?
In Oregon and Louisiana, defendants can be convicted in non-capital crimes without a unanimous jury verdict. That law comes as an attempt to make sure minority defendants aren't protected by minority jurors who holdout on their verdicts. Justice is determined, or denied, by skin color.
Injustices occur when common sense, or common decency, is sacrificed to the whims of someone who is older, smarter, wealthier or more powerful. Real justice cannot depend on one's ethnic origins, political clout or economic capacity. Right must always be right, and wrong always wrong, everywhere, every time with every person. Common sense tells us that justice must be blind.
So does God.